India vs South Africa 2nd ODI: Team preview - India

The batting needs to fire for India

In Johannesburg, India were literally out-muscled by South Africa. Now, in Durban, Team India will be looking to get back up and throw a punch of their own. But, there are glaring concerns that need to be addressed, not least, the death bowling.

India’s bowlers got plundered all over the park at Jo’burg and it won’t be a surprise to see Mohit Sharma and maybe Bhuvneshwar Kumar too, being replaced by the pacier duo of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. Ishant with his experience could be vital in this crunch game, and Umesh with his pace might offer the cutting edge that MS Dhoni so badly needs from his bowlers.

With a green top expected at Kingsmead, India might toy with the idea of playing 4 quicks as well, which would mean either R Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja will miss out. That doesn’t seem likely because Ashwin was the only bowler with respectable figures at Jo’burg and Jadeja has been Dhoni’s go-to man for a while now.

The batsmen too, failed in a big chase at The Wanderers, and it will be interesting to see how Rohit Sharma responds to that spell he faced from Dale Steyn, which was quite literally, unplayable. Shikhar Dhawan threw it away against Morne Morkel in the first ODI, and he would dearly love to spend more time in the middle.

Without an iota of doubt, the biggest concern has been the form of Yuvraj Singh. The belligerent Southpaw now has 3 ducks in his last 8 ODI innings, and the bigger concern is that he is getting intimidated by genuine quick bowling, which never used to happen with the Yuvraj of old. So, India might be looking to blood in either Ajinkya Rahane or Ambati Rayudu in place of Yuvraj.

Kingsmead will feel like a home venue for India, atleast with the spectators cheering for them in large numbers, if not for the pitch and overhead conditions. And, it is only fair to imagine that MS Dhoni and his charges are ready to put on a much better display and entertain the crowd that will turn up in large numbers to support India.

Players to watch out for:

Virat Kohli: He looked very fluent at Jo’burg till he got out, and was the only Indian batsman apart from MS Dhoni who looked the part in that dismal batting performance from the First ODI. When Kohli bats big, invariably, India does well. The best thing about Kohli’s batting is that the only way he knows to bat is to fight fire with fire. And with Steyn and Morne Morkel bowling with their tails up, that could be the approach that clicks.

For India, it is imperative that Kohli plays a long innings, and it will be among the Proteas’ top prerogatives to get Kohli out cheaply.

Mohammad Shami: Shami was the only Indian bowler who looked like he could pick up a wicket in the first ODI. Shami has a nippy action and hits the bat harder than most people think. If he can get that in-swinger going at a decent pace, Shami will be a difficult bowler to get away.

But then, as with any of the other Indian quicks, the problem for Shami is to ensure that he bowls well at the death. He has shown that he has the ability to bowl a good yorker, and that skill will be tested to the hilt against the likes of AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller in the end overs.

Quote:

I don’t think anyone in this Indian team is frightened of anything. We didn’t see anyone close their eyes to a bouncer or play rash strokes.

Virat Kohli promising that India’s batsman will fight.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh/Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, 2 out of Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Umesh Yadav/Ishant Sharma/Mohit Sharma.